In
950 AD, the Maori chief Kupe travels to Aotearoa (which means
Land of the Long White Cloud, what we today call New Zealand).
However, large scale settlement of the Maoris in New Zealand
would not occur until much later.
Buildings made of stone slabs, often on top of mounds, could
be a sign of social change among the Polynesians of Tonga. The
new type of buildings could mean a privileged noble class had
developed. Competition between these nobles appear to have led
to the rise of a supreme chieftain or king, called a TuOi in
the Tongan language, with a capital at Heketa. This is suspected
because of the construction of a large number of monuments here.
These were not built over a long number of years, but were all
built more or less at the same time at some point after 500
AD.
The Aboriginal peoples practised a kind of farming. By controlled
burning, they kept the bush open and allowed the growth of new
seedlings in the ash-bed. Aboriginals in Arnhem Land (northern
Australia) still do this. Many Australian plants will re-grow
quickly after a fire; indeed some plants such as the grass-tree
flower more prolifically after fire. At least half of the food
eaten by Aboriginals came from plants, and it was the task of
the women to collect them. Just as we eat root vegetables, greens,
fruits and seeds, so did the Aborigines. Fruits, seeds and greens
were only available during their appropriate seasons, but roots
could usually be dug up all the year round, because the earth
acted as a natural storage cupboard. Important foods were replanted.
The regular digging-over of the soil, and the thinning out of
clumps by collection of plants, together with burning to provide
fertiliser, is not very different from what we do in our own
gardens.
The stands of bunya pine attracted Aboriginal clans from all
over the modern Australian state of Queensland. When this tree
is mature it bears large green cones, and inside each scale
of the cone will be found a hard-shelled nut about 5cm long.
These nuts were such a popular food that tribes came from hundreds
of kilometres around the Bunya Mountains in southern Queensland
to feast on them. Particular trees were considered to be the
property of certain Aboriginal families, but everyone was invited
to share the delicious nuts, which are not unlike chestnuts
when roasted in the fire. Although found only in Queensland,
bunya pines have since been planted throughout southern Australia,
and the nuts may sometimes be bought in Sydney markets.
25
years ago / 50 years ago
/ 80 years ago / 125
years ago / 150 years ago
250 years ago / 400
years ago / 700 years ago
/ 1,200 years ago
1,500 years ago / 2,000
years ago / 3,000 years ago
/ 4,000 years ago / 5,000
years ago / 10,000 years ago
